Remembering Harmon Killebrew, The Inspiration For The MLB Logo

The familiar logo that you see directly to the right of this text
is
Harmon Killebrew.

A silhouette of the Hall-of-Fame slugger was the inspiration for
the logo for the entirety major leagues. It's a fitting
distinction for a man who epitomized everything that was great
about the game of baseball.

Killebrew, 74, passed away today after a long battle with
esophageal cancer at his home in Arizona. Last week, Killebrew
announced
that he was ending his battle "with the awful disease" since it
had become an un-winnable fight.

When he made the weighty declaration that his life was soon to be
over, he did it with the utmost class and didn't ask for a shred
of pity. He acknowledged the support he received with humility
while letting it be known that he was comfortable spending his
last few days with his loved ones by his side. It was a
resounding final bow that short and to the point.

Thanks for the love, I love you too, but I must be going.

The press loves to elevate the recently deceased to a level of
near sainthood. George Steinbrenner, a controversial figure
throughout his life, was rightfully praised for his work with
charities and how good the Yankees were while he was in charge.
They didn't talk about the negative stuff too much, but it was
touched upon a tad.

Every story about Steinbrenner could be summarized like this: he
should be celebrated, but we acknowledge that we did just vilify
the guy for the last four decades every time we wrote about him.
There's no fear of that when describing the life of Harmon
Killebrew.

Killebrew's nickname was a pseudo-misnomer. A man who once said
that he has fun washing dishes as a hobby outside of baseball is
typically not worthy of a nickname like Killer, but that was the
fun part of it. He killed pitchers, but would never say a bad
word about one. He even complimented umpires while on the field,
telling them that they made a good call ringing him up on a
called third strike! Not trying to sound like a curmudgeon here,
but baseball players just don't do that kind of stuff anymore.

Rivaled by maybe only Stan Musial in terms of unconditional love,
Killebrew spent hours signing autographs for fans while actually
engaging in conversation with them. He still did that after he
retired, as he often showed up at memorabilia shows with a smile
on his face and a pen his hand, laughing along with anyone who
wanted to share a joke. He still attended Hall-of-Fame ceremonies
long after he retired, sharing stories and rubbing elbows with
players and fans alike. He was a reserved man most of the time,
but talking about baseball with another soul is what got him
excited.

Take a look around the internet after reading this. It's a
virtual guarantee that
no one is saying a
single ill word about Killebrew. I could have posed this
challenge years ago while the internet was still in infancy and
Killebrew was 100% healthy. No one said anything bad about him
ever, save for possibly a pitcher that muttered something under
his breath with his backed turned to the plate while watching a
baseball fade into the horizon. Something like that can't be
considered a personal affront.

So the man from the logo is gone, but his legacy will surely
endure while the MLB continues to thrive. It's a fitting tribute
to a man who loved the game and those around it with all of his
heart.